Modcast Bulletin (Ep.18)

Halo 4 was (in my biased opinion) the big story at E3 this year, and it was great to hear those outside our circle say “Halo looks great!”

It was also nice to have people inside our circle say “Halo looks great!” 🙂

Appreciated points and quotes worth repeating are up next for Modcast #18 – enjoy!

Appreciated Points

ROYGBIV – DeepCee (his first time on the show!) went right to Halo 4‘s art style, and he likes what he sees. The vibrant color really stands out compared to Reach, who’s colors were muted a little bit. (Which worked perfect for the tone of that game, but with the new trilogy it’s great to see the brightness back.)

GrimBrother One agreed citing how Halo’s bright color scheme always helped it stand out from most of the shooters out there.

More questions than answers – Even though we were shown a lot of stuff during the demo, it was the opinion of the Mods that we’re not exactly sure what all that stuff was.

What was the big silvery orb thing? The Didact?

The new enemies – who are they? Ancient humans? the Didact’s Prometheans? What do the different colors mean (orange vs. blue)? No one’s sure yet.

The Didact’s symbol turning upside down – what’s up with that? Does he view humanity (and specifically Chief) as his enemy? Is it really the Didact? Who’s speaking at the end?

DeepCee felt the Didact probably won’t be the bad guy, even though we don’t know for sure – too predictable.

I say, predictable like a fox! (Actually I have no idea who the main villain will be – I just like saying “like a fox!” after things.)

The Commish – Kalamari was a big fan of the live-action short that previewed before the gameplay demo; he liked how  “The Commissioning” piece was something separate from the game and really set the tone for the upcoming action. Although the short itself was all action as well!

Givers of Fire – each of the Mods had something that stuck out to them concerning the Prometheans, from the sweet way they spawn Watchers (Kalamari) to their distinctive orange look (GBO).

CruelLEGACEY is eager to see how the how the Prometheans (and the other Forerunner enemies) react to the player; it’s hard to tell from only the trailer footage.

DeeCeep made the good point that for 10+ years we’ve had Covenant-only combat, and now that means squat. Pretty crazy to think about.

More than meets the eye – Per DC the fiction has the Prometheans being able to combine, much like sentinels. Could we see a Forerunner combiner?

Like LEGACEY said, that’s one of the best parts about the Forerunners when it comes fiction and gameplay – 343 can do whatever they want, and it’s how it’s supposed to be.

Ops of a Spartan nature – Per “The Commissioning,” the Infinity has been “re-purposed for peace.” You believe that?

With Spartan IVs aboard, the Mods weren’t buying it – what’s ONI up to?

Despite a possible hidden agenda, everyone was excited that Spartan Ops is bringing co-op back baby, yeah!

However, Kal and CL both stressed the need for a strong network – if it doesn’t work well, Spartan Ops won’t be nearly as popular as it should be.

Games of a War nature – For ordinance drops, The Bouk mentioned that people need to wait and see how this all shakes out during gameplay. With Infinity Slayer as a new gametype, no one’s sure exactly how everything is going to work together yet.

Over on Halo.Bungie.Org Domino Theory and Mastrbiggy both came to the same conclusion – that Halo 4 will be a “gun game,” which is to say that while melee will of course be used it may not be as widespread as it’s been in the past.

This is sad news for my play style, which involves the use of guns only if the enemy is not within beat down range. (It should be noted that “beat down range” often includes the entire map.)

I’m still holding out for an armor ability we haven’t seen yet – triple elbow! I’m sure 343 is keeping that under wraps. If not as an armor ability, it will be probably be an assassination move.

I can already hear Jeff Steitzer announcing “Triple Elbow!” as three right angles of justice come down hard on the back of a helmet. Awesome.

A laser from center field – because Bungie didn’t have to worry about multiplyaer balancing, they did some magnetism magic with the squad’s grenades so the ODSTs are better at chucking the balls of panic than any Spartan.

There goes my “I’m-just-awesome-at-throwing-nades-in-ODST” theory.

Hey, the Warthog came with flames – the pre-order armor; yes, everyone thought it looked a little crazy, but Grim had a good illustration in that the pre-order stuff is like NASCAR armor (flashy, corporate color, etc.)

Once you get into the game (and in the demo and trailers) things look better 🙂

Better with … wait, what? – Per LEGACEY, Kinect should be in Halo 4 for the Machinima and Forge usage alone.

GBO thought of a different use for it, which will remain nameless …

Let the good times roll – Grim pointed out how great it is to “see the hate go away”. It must be gratifying for 343, and nice to see some payoff. 14,000 people in the Halo 4 forum section alone at one point – nice!

He also took a shovel to the praise bucket and heaped a pile of it on his fellow Moderators for all the work they’ve done in keeping it clean as the world wakes up to Halo 4 on the horizon … and on the forums. Mind the gap baby!

Quotes Worth Repeating

I love how when I look at your picture on the Skype it looks so remarkable like my own.

It is amazing because I think to myself, I say, that Nevin … he is just like me.

GrimBrother One delivers a classic opening … but one you have to hear to appreciate how good it is 🙂

I was super excited … sorry

GBO was excited that the image he made for himself on Neogaf looked just like the ball thing in the E3 demo. That excitement was not shared by the group.

The temptation for those nostalgic drops is, like, right there.

CruelLEGACEY on the feeling you got on the demo when you were dropped on a new place headed for the unknown, echoing back to Halo: Combat Evolved.

They look more awesome than real clouds do

Kalamari loves him some clouds, but loves the demo clouds better. Agreed!

If you people haven’t read Contact Harvest, then I don’t know if we can be friends

Grim on required reading. Hey, the man has standards!

The Needler is just like tiny hedgehogs on the inside of it

DeepCee confirms the rumors

I’ve got a tactical package for you right here.

LEGACEY, who may or may not be referring to the anything in game

Due to the improvements from the Engineers we can now armor lock while moving

Kalamari tries to single-handedly bring down the forums

S.A.M, which stands for “sentient artificial monitor”

Grim gives the props to Miss Placey Dank!

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